Steamer Reviews

I find this steamer a hassle to use. I purchased it primary to cook rice. The tray is big enough to cook two cups of rice - not much if you have a large family. Everytime you want to add something in, you have to take out the fan and it is a hassle, not to mention the danger involved due to the extreme hot steam!!! Everytime you are done cooking, the water needs to be empty and it makes a mess. I find that the rice cooks much faster in a convention rice cooker - a much cheaper appliance. Overall, I am disappointed in the product. If you have young children, be sure this thing is out of reach when in use.

When I received my steamer as a gift a few weeks ago, I thought, "Oh no, another specialized appliance I'll use once or twice." Was I wrong! I've used it several times a week since I received it, and I love it! I haven't tried rice or grains in it yet, but my veggies come out perfect every time, and the fish filets I cooked in it were delicious. I especially love it for corn on the cob, and broccoli with sweet red pepper was divine. I haven't had problems with water running out or overflowing, but what I cook usually takes 10 minutes or less. And of course, I use oven mitts to open it during and after the cooking cycle. That seems pretty elementary to me, although the gift came with an oven mitt in the box to draw my attention to that point. I may still use my stove-top steamer sometimes, but I get much better results from the Cuisinart steamer.

I have used my steamer for rice, boiled eggs, fish and veggies.
Like one of the other posters I too did not put enough water in the reservoir the first time I made rice (the instructions don't say how much?) so I was sweating it for the timer to go off before the water was gone. Now I fill it up all the way if I am cooking rice.
I have not had the overflow problem some of the other cooks have had. I plan to use mine alot this summer to keep from standing in the hot kitchen. I wish the rice bowl was bigger, I don't like the plastic, but read you can use other bowls, glass or plastic, as long as they allow the steam to circulate around it.
I have not burned myself either, I read the instructions and have been cooking for years, so this was common sense for me.
It really is a trial and error thing, I wish they encluded more recipes with the steamer.

I find that this unit spatters and sputters terribly when I make quantities of rice measuring 3 cups dry or more. It is a 10 cup cooked unit and I can't imagine making any larger quantities than I have. I use the right amount of rice and water. Water spills over onto my countertop and through the air hole. As it nears being done the liquid spatters out the air hole all over my countertop. What a mess! I threw away the packing materials or I would probably return it. I do like the non-stick pot and the keep warm feature. If anyone has any advice on how to keep this mess from happening, I would appreciate it!

This rice cooker surprised me with its quality in material and workmanship. I expected much less. Of course, the measuring cup and ladle are still made of very cheap disposable-like plastic, but everything else is respectable.

HOWEVER, I would NOT have purchased this item if I knew that it doesn't have an ON/OFF switch. The only way to turn it off is to unplug the electrical cord. What a pain! I tend to use a rice cooker often, and I like to have it plugged in all the time.

As for it's performance, it takes a long time to heat up. Expect over 30 minutes for the rice to cook. My old Hitachi was much quicker....and it also came with the ON/OFF switch.

After reading reviews on Amazon, I purchased this rice cooker for my mom for Christmas. She loves it! I bought her a Salton cooker the year before and it bit the dust after a couple months of use. In comparison, she said the non-stick surface on this cooker was a dream to clean. Once I knew it was a winner, I bought this same cooker for a friend for a shower gift. So far, so good. Both people I've purchased them for have been happy. For the price, I don't think you can beat it.

All-Clad's usual high quality and performance is missed with this highly disappointing colander insert. I have attempted to cook numerous pastas at varying temperatures and been frustrated every time. The water either boils over (regardless of water level in the pot) or just doesn't simmer. Ordinarily I'd blame my incompetence, but attempts by friends and family to better my performance with the pot returned similar results. I thoroughly enjoy cooking with the rest of my All-Clad collection, but have relegated the colander to the basement cupboard and pulled out the old, but reliable Reverware.

0 stars for using with the 3 or 4 qt pans. 1 star for using with noodles. What are they thinking? This insert orginally came with the 7 qt stock pot and for steaming clams or a heap, like 2 bunches, of asparagrass, or steaming a pile of brocolli, or new potatoes, its great. It's too small for steaming corn on the cob, at least more than 4 ears. Using it as a "pasta" insert has been a bloody failure. For Pasta, just put the noodles in the water, forget the insert. The only reason to use an insert is if you are making multiple batches of noodles. Only resturants do that, at my house everyone eats at the same time. I mean really, you have to move 6qts of water and both the pan and the insert to the sink before you can lift out the noodles then what? How are you going to put olive oil and garlic on the noodles? You need to dump the water from the pan, in which case you might as well have dumped the whole mess through a collander. (A good collander is well worth owning.)

The failure comes from you can't put enough water in the pan to justify using an insert. If you fill the pan near the top of those holes it will boil over. Which is again why using it in a 3 or 4 qt pan is a waste of time.

Does look cool in the cabinet though.

two strikes....i really wanted to like this little cooker but Panasonic seems to have quality control problems.

I suppose its possible that they came from a bad production run, but I give up with Panasonic.

Some thoughts about the Panasonic SR-W06PA three cup rice cooker which I bought last month.

It does a fine job with all kinds of rice, including long grain brown. The unit is simple, logically and well designed and only has one switch: on/off. Clean up is easy enough, especially if you soak the inner container for awhile before swabbing with a sponge.

There is no warming function after the rice has cooked -- the unit gives a quiet chime and powers off. This has not been a problem for me but if you want to keep rice warm in the middle of a meal, just switch the unit "on" for two minutes and turn it off. Alternatively, buy a more expensive cooker.

To re-heat left-over rice, use the steaming plate and put the rice on top of it. This works far better than trying to revive cold rice with a microwave oven and only takes a few minutes. The steamer works very well for vegetables -- would be worth having it just for that alone.

The cooker cooks one to three cups of dry rice -- more than enough for four people (probably six). The unit is small and compact in size (a 7" circle -- 9" counting handles -- that is 8" high with lid on) and easy to store.

Be aware that a "cup" measure (included) is actually about 6 ounces in volume. That still makes far more rice than I can eat at one sitting. I'd recommend buying a plastic or wood rice paddle (not provided) -- a wooden or nylon spoon would do -- to protect the non-stick coating.

The only product glitch is a printing error in the instructions. The user is told to add one cup of rice and one cup of water. Skeptically, I tried using one and a half cups of water and had to steam the resulting under cooked rice (but even that mistake turned out pretty well). The correct proportions are 1 rice to 2 water -- just like mom told you.

The instructions also tell you to soak the rice before cooking, something most European Americans do not do. Though I do soak my rice, it is not necessary to do so to produce satisfactory results.

I've been eating more brown rice since I bought the steamer because its so easy to make now. If you think cooking rice on the stovetop is easy, try a rice cooker. Just put the rice, water and a pinch of salt in and turn it on. No timing, no fiddling with the heat, and perfect results every time.

I have had good luck with Panasonic products in the past -- good value and reliability for the money. This rice cooker
appears to be no exception.
/end/

The steam leaves sludge on your floors. The waffle covers do not pick up anything and you have to wipe up behind with another towel. I have found it works better to use a terry cloth hand towel. If I had to do it over again, I would have bought the model that has a floor attachment as well as smaller ones for all jobs.

I can't believe all of the negative reviews this product got, so I had to defend it some. It is a much better product than others I've used in this price range. IT IS GREAT ON HARDWOOD OR BARE FLOORS FOR SUCKING UP DOG AND/OR CAT HAIR AND DUST, BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR HEAVY USE ON DIRTY CARPETS. I have a short-haired indoor dog that sheds a lot, and it sucks the dog hair up much better than heavier vacuums I've used. It is very light in weight, so it's pretty easy to maneuver or use hand held. The only thing I don't like about it is that it takes a few minutes to effectively clean the dust filter. You must clean this filter every time you use it because it gets nasty from all the small particles it will pick up. As long as you use it with a clean filter it will work good for LIGHT use. If you try to use it in place of a heavy vacuum, it will overheat and shut itself off. It's a lot better than the Dirt Devil models I've used in the past. I think most of the people who trashed this product were expecting a heavy duty vacuum cleaner for $60?

I recently purchased a home with 85% of the house having hardwood floors. Coming from an all carpet apartment I already had a excellent vacuum, but on wood it just made the floor vibrate so hard it didn't do a good job. After months of sweeping and then using 2-3 swifter cloths per room I just got frustratd. My husband saw this "gadget" and had to have it. Well with 3 cats and lots of fur to spare I must say that this little gizmo works well. It does pick up hair, dirt, and even the small leaves that fall from my plants. It does need emptying after each room and the cord is a little on the short side but if you have at least two plugs in a room you should be fine. I also LOVE that it can be turned into a hand vac. I have severe allergies and dusting does no good. So after I vacuum a room I use it to get rid of all the dust in the room and since it has a HEPA filter I highly recommend it to other people with allergies. It is just so much better than trying to lug a huge vacuum around the house.

Wow - this is a great product, with some minor flaws that can be overlooked. This product is perfect for any type of hard surface, ie. hardwoods, vinyl, tile etc. This works some much better and faster than a broom and dust pan. We call it our "electric broom". The product has a lot of power - you can actually use it on a thin carpet and still get good suction, but it doesn't have any bristles like a tradtional vacuum, so it can't get deep into carpets. I think when you weigh the pros against the cons, you will decide to buy it. Here they are:

PROS:
- Very powerful suction, gets dust, hair and anything in its way
- Small, can be easily stored away
- Versatile, can be used like a vacuum or a handheld "dustbuster"
- Easily converts from the two different uses

CONS:
- The filter is a huge mess and is pretty hard to clean, although thats almost every bagless vacuum
- The air that blows out of the side is pretty powerful, so it tends to blow the dirt around before you vacuum it
- The product can get pretty hot (I hope that doesn't mean a bad motor - only time will tell)

As I said, I believe that the pros outweight the cons of this machine and it is very worthwhile to own. I think that you will be as pleased with the Shark as I am.

I absolutely love this steamer for cleaning the several sets of carpeted stairs I have, for the pitter patter of four sets of energetic Labrador feet can muddy up even a stain-resistant commercial carpet over a few weeks time, especially during mud season up here in rural New Hampshire. So, while a handy-vac or a wist-broom is okay for day to dirt, but I have to whip this baby out every month or so to grind off the ground in dirt. This small and lightweight Hotshot handheld steamer made by Eureka gives me the steaming power I need to do the job quickly, easily, and with minimum fuss. Of course, one can use it for a variety of purposes, such as cleaning upholstery, sealed grout, bathroom tile, kitchen tile, stovetops, stove exhaust filters, windows, and mirrors. It can even be used to steam wrinkles from clothing or draperies. It is supposedly also great for degreasing, and will snuff out mites, salmonella, and other microorganisms, so it is a good hygiene agent, as well. The accessories include a flexible extension hose, a straight nozzle, a scrub brush, an angled nozzle, a fabric tool, a window cleaner, a measuring cup, and a funnel. As I said before, it is easy to use, lightweight, and comfortable to hold. Enjoy!

I often feel dizzy after cleaning the kitchen, since 409 makes me kind of high - but not in a good way. I decide to give this steam cleaner a try.

It cleans better than the chemical cleaners. However, for tough stuff like carbonized grease - you still have to scrub. Since you have to go through the area with steam instead of simply spraying chemicals, the cleaning may take a little bit longer as well.

It works wonderfully on glass, metal, and counter tops. Unfortunately, anything that is has a soft or rough surface has proven to be a challenge.

I wish this unit would hold more water. It would only produce steam for 7-10 minutes of cleaning. Then again, it is a hand held unit, more water will increase the weight of the device.

Let's face facts, folks. I'm a 29 year old bachelor. I hate cleaning. I do it only when it becomes absolutely necessary, which usually happens when I'm waist deep in clutter and mess. Wherever the cleaning bug gene is that runs in most families, it made absolutely certain to skip me.

I had to clean my house before selling it recently, and I had to do the unthinkable. Yup, I had to actually exert myself in that one activity I hate more than anything else. And that'd be cleaning. Downcast and sullen, I labored through the task at hand with as much gusto as I could gather, but it wasn't until my folks, who were helping me in my endeavours, pulled out this wondrous device that the experience actually became good.

Pour water in it, plug it in and let it heat up. After some minutes pass, press the trigger and the hand steamer exerts a jet of high-powered steam that will remove any stain. Yes, any stain. I was so impressed with the demos my Mom was showing me that I had to try myself on the grunge on the kitchen floor. After a few sweeps I had to try on something else. So the front of my refrigerator became my next victim. After that I was looking around for something else...anything else. And as I began this on the dryer in the laundry room I realized that I was actually *enjoying* the experience.

This thing gets into cracks and crevices that noone could ever dream of getting to before, cleans them, and as a bonus sterilizes them completely. My bathroom is in cleaner, better shape now then it was when I first got the house!

There's several different attachments that you can put on the nozzle to make the steam come out at different angles, and others that can allow you to steam clean mirrors or flat surfaces. It is beyond easy to operate and is perversely enjoyable, even for a self proclaimed couch-potato such as myself. I recommend this for anyone wanting to get stains or dirt off of surfaces that nothing short of molecular acid and a brillo pad will remove. But don't be surprised if your husband/fiance'/boyfriend eventually steals it from you to do the task themselves. You might even see them smile as they work!

I have purchased this rice cooker twice. The first year it burned out, literally. I purchased another one and the same thing happened this morning, almost a year later.
Pros: It is extremely easy to use, easy to clean, and is inexpensive.
Cons: Do not use this product under cabinetry. It will cause moisture stains/damage, even if the cabinetry is mounted high. Foam will bubble out of the cooker and onto the counter. The life expectancy of this cooker is only 1 year with moderate to heavy use.

This machine will boil over with a starchy bubbling mess to clean up - even when cooking the smallest quantity of rice. The vent hole on the top will also get clogged - making it dangerous to lift the lid. DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDED. It seems a good value, because it has a large capacity & a removable pan to make clean-up easier - and believe me that's because cleaning up after this machine is a mess. The rice is always soggy on top - with a crust on the bottom. You would be better off using instant rice or cooking it on the stove the old fashioned way - it's less trouble then cleaning up after this machine. I gave it ONE STAR - BECAUSE THAT IS LOWEST YOU CAN GIVE - and that is overrating this machine.

I'm an experienced rice cooker user. The cooking directions are baloney. You MUST wash the rice, drain, then add twice the amount of water as dry rice - 1 cup dry rice to 2 cups water. Let the pot cool completely before removing leftover rice and hand washing. This will extend the nonstick surface.

I HAVE PURCHASED TWO OF THE AROMA RICE COOKERS WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS AT [a local store] AND NEATHER ONE OF THEM WORKED MORE THAN A FEW MONTHS. THEY SIMPLY STOPPED WORKING. THE PREVIOUS RICE COOKER FROM WESTINGHOUSE LASTED FOR MORE THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS.

My husband and I got this for a wedding present in 1995 and we use it AT LEAST 3 times a week, every week. We love it. It finally lost one leg this year so we sit it on a towel to make it level. We bought a more expensive rice cooker but I still pull this one out every time because the rice is great and it is so easy to use. Yes, the rice at the bottom sticks to the pan a bit but it comes out very easily if you wash it right away or if you don't, you'll need to soak the pot for a bit. I have also found that we like the rice better if we add a bit more water than what is recommended in the booklet.

I got this rice-cooker on sale at amazon, pretty good actually. I have been using it everyday, 2-3 times a day since June, and it's fine! It's not one of those fancy Zorijushi, but it's [inexpensive], and in working order.

I recently bought this Faberware Rice cooker on the notion that it looked to be superior construction and quality. Plus for the price, you'd think it could at least cook a decent pot of rice. Guess again. Despite how careful you are, the rice is either soggy or burnt! Plus the manufacture has calibrated their cooker to use their "Cup" of measurement which has no bearing to real world measurements (Closer to 3/4 cup) Not the end of the world, but frustrating to use with our recipes. Overall a real disappointment. Stay away - stay far far away!

I received this rice cooker as a wedding present almost 9 years ago. It still looks and performs well to this day at the rate of using it only 2 or 3 times per month (we're trying to cut down on starch in our diet). We never used it to steam vegetables, although it has an insert for that -- IMHO it's kind of superfluous.

The only noteworthy flaw as far as I'm concerned is that it will cause the very bottom layer of rice to crust and brown (nor really burnt per se) every time. Not a problem if you are making more than the minimum 2 cups of rice at a time, as it is really only a small amount of the overall batch that is affected. Still, for rice fanatics I can see how this would be unacceptable. I usually just discard that part and eat the rest, which is always fluffy and perfect.
Nonetheless, we will soon be getting rid of this 10 cup rice cooker in favor of a smaller one that doesn't "burn" the bottom layer; we just don't need to make that much rice at a time!

I have had this farberware rice cooker for well over 5 years and it is still cooking. My rice comes out fluffy and I love that sometimes it does stick to the bottom but upon adding a little sprinkle of water it just comes right out and we love the crispy rice. My daughter is now on her own and wants one badly. I will just buy her one and send it to her. It is a wonderful rice cooker and I cook a lot of rice. I also cook other wonderful casseroles in it. The steamer is good but I have to admit it, i haven't used it that much.